Claim Approved

Though I had an extremely busy day, I am super delighted cos the director approved my claim for extra work done for 2008 and 2009. That means I would have to pay more tax for 2008. But still the approval has come at the right time.

The rain has been coming down almost the whole day.

The electricity supply stopped coming as I was about to knock off from work. So the whole area was in pitch darkness and there was traffic congestion on the road. I had to be extra careful since the rain was coming down at the time as well.

My SIL’s parents arrived from SDK last night and tonight we all had steamboat at home. Indeed it is the most appropriate time to have steamboat when the rain is coming down. We did not have to switch on the air-conditioner.

I was very hungry and ate a lot.

Aunty Alice made some 'leong fun' so I am gonna have some later.

Weird Weather

All throughout the night, the rain was pouring down by the bucketsful.

As I was about to leave for work this morning, once again the rain started to come down heavily. After passing the roundabout outside my housing estate, I saw that there was a long queue. Some cars were turning back from the flood prone area. I quickly went around the roundabout and went out to Lintas Highway. When I queued up to make a U-turn, there were ten cars or more in front of me.

I had to wait patiently because the oncoming traffic was heavy. By then the pouring rain had stoppd and it was only drizzling. It was nice to feel the cool weather.

My journey took me half an hour instead of 4 mins. Sigh!

I was pleased that among so many things that I had done today, I managed to file some important documents which I had delayed doing for months.

Tonight was the Monthly Ministry Leader’s Meeting for Canaanland Celebration. The Chairman thanked me for a job well done for the retreat.

After the meeting, I dropped by Tong Hing Supermarket to buy some ham for the sandwiches since Consfood had already closed.

Life Group

As usual had a good sharing at Life Group. It is always good to share our lives together.

Shelley Chew cooked homemade ‘Wanton Mee’. I had to give her face once a while and therefore I had some supper. While we were eating and enjoying ourself, the rain was pouring down by the bucketsful.

When we left the rain was drizzling and by the time I started the car, it was pouring by the bucketsful again.

Upon reaching Tuaran Road, some parts of the road were starting to overflow with water. The same was happening at Lintas Highway.

The worst was at Kolombong Road. The flood must be about 8 inches high. I was scared and prayed hard that the car would not fail me. I thanked God I could arrive home safely.

Rainy Season?

Up until last Saturday, the weather had been extremely hot and during the weekend I could not go for exercise due to the rain.

The rain has been coming down these four days and as a matter of fact, it is raining right now.

The weather has become more and more unpredictable as time goes by.

I have only become more appreciative of the rain recently eventhough that would mean I have to wash the car more often. I still prefer cool weather more than hot.

Thank God recently my health has improved slightly as well. I do not feel as cold as before when I am in an air-conditioned room.

Pressure Cooker

Last night at midnight my bedroom was still a pressure cooker. The temperature showed 28 degrees Celcius. I had a hard time falling asleep.

Thank God after an hour, the rain came down. From then on, the temperature was cooler and more condusive for sleeping.

Humid Weather

Oh man, what is happening here?

The time is after 8p.m. on a Sunday night and yet the weather is so humid. It is 30 degrees Celcius in my room and the fan is on full blast.

I had a good three hours sleep before dinner tonight.

I did not join anyone for lunch after Celebration. Instead I went to Tong Hing Supermarket, Damai Plaza thinking of getting some ham for sandwiches but there were none left. The supermarket is selling gazillion amount of chocolates but I was good, I did not get any.

I went to Strawberry Cake House and bought a loaf of banana cake for Aunty Alice before stopping by Consfood to check out if there was anything I could buy there. I found some turkey ham – smoked and normal ones and some chicken ham. The price is cheaper as compared to Tong Hing Supermarket as well. So next time I would go to this shop first before going to the supermarket.

The Sun

The sun finally came out full force today. Back to hot days again.

The Sun

After four days of continuous rain, finally the sun came out from hiding for awhile today.

The rain is coming down again right now.

Wet Weather

From the beginning of this month until now, Kota Kinabalu has been experiencing heaps of rainfall especially in the afternoon.

Yesterday was the worst. On the way home from work after 6p.m. there were flash floods in some parts of the road.

From early this morning until now, the rain has been coming down on and off.

Cold Day

This morning as I was getting ready for work, I was debating on whether to wear short or long sleeve blouse. I chose the former.

A while after I arrived work, the rain started to pour and persisted until after 4p.m.

With the air-conditioner temperature on 16º Celcius, I almost turn to ice. I had to wear the cardigan. By 5p.m. I increased the air-conditioner temperature to 20º Celcius and five minutes later to 24º Celcius.

Extremely Hot Days

Kota Kinabalu has been experiencing extremely hot weather these few days. Yesterday I had two fans directing at me in the office but I was still sweating. Right now it is about 10p.m. but the temperature inside my room is still 30 degrees Celcius!

This afternoon Sophia Tsen passed me her income tax form. I was able to send off all the forms over to Kuala Lumpur by courier service. I called the courier company twice to make sure that the messenger will come. Otherwise all of us would be in big trouble as the deadline for submission is tomorrow.

Tomorrow I also have to ask the office boy to help me make the balance of payment for my income tax at Public Bank Berhad.

I have started using the soaps I received as redemption gift from Shiseido for 2006. The soap smells wonderful and is not harsh on my skin. Instead my skin feel moisturised and smells good after my shower. The soap also leaves a very pleasant smell in my bathroom.

I also finished eating the Famous Amos biscuits. They were not too sweet for me.

One more working day and then it will be holiday. Yeah! I certainly need the break as I have been working 9.5 hours or more on every weekday this month. Time to sleep in and recuperate.

Cool Weather

Kota Kinabalu has been experiencing nice cool weather for more than two weeks now (since 3rd day of CNY ie. 9 February 2008). Weather has been less than 30 degrees Celsius and usually the sky is cloudy except for the last two days ie. Friday and Saturday. (Temperature in my bedroom right now is 24 degrees Celsius without the fan or air-conditioner on. The hottest weather I have even seen was 38 degrees Celsius, a difference of 14 degrees Celcius in a room in a tropical country!)

Being inside an air-conditioned room in the office also means that it can be quite freezing.

Sometimes if it was raining before we went out for dinner and if I knew that we would be going to an air-conditioned restaurant, I would wear t-shirt of thicker material or long sleeve blouse/shirt. Some restaurants like for instance Supertanker and Mayflower can be extremely cold.

I used to love winter when I was in Down Under. In fact winter was my favourite season. Usually friends would be curious why I did not feel cold even when I was wearing minimal amount of winter clothings.

But my health has deteriorated since I had asthma in 1997 (I think). How did I get my asthma?

At that time I was working for my uncle-in-law as a computer supervisor for his computer centre in Tg. Malim (the border of Selangor and Perak states of West Malaysia, now called ‘Proton City’ (the place where the plant for making the national car is located)).

Usually on Saturday afternoons after work, I would take a bus from Tg. Malim to Kota Raya in Kuala Lumpur and stayed at cousin Victor Chong’s condominium called Angkasa Impian at the heart of Kuala Lumpur (the Golden Triangle). The condominium is pink in colour and located behind Tong Shin Hospital and near Jalan Alor (a street filled with restaurants and hawkers stalls (food haven of Kuala Lumpur)).

One day I went to Sunway Lagoon with cousin Christopher Chong and one of his friends (her name is Chee Hooi). We went on quite a number of rides at the Dry Park and Water Park, and even went on the ship that rotates 360 degrees called Pirate’s Revenge.

I did not know what happen but after going on the rides, I started to cough non-stop. At that time all I wanted to do was to go back to Angkasa Impian to rest and sleep. My head was spinning like anything as well. I think I told Chris and Chee Hooi they could continue to enjoy themselves while I can catch a taxi back but they insisted to leave with me. I felt like a spoil sport.

The next day I went back to Tg. Malim and that was the start of my endless ‘coughing’ treatment at the private clinics. I went to see so many doctors and all of them said I was having normal cough. I did not go to work for a few weeks because I was coughing like nobody's business and was unable to have normal sleep.

At one time my aunty, cousins and I went into a cake shop to buy some cakes and I did not even know what had happened. I felt dizzy, fainted and dropped on the floor. (I always laughed everytime my aunty reminded me of this ‘puk kai’ (fall) episode. Well, of course I can laugh now but at that time, it was a serious matter).

One day my aunty brought me to a doctor who diagnosed me as having asthma. I was shocked when he told me that. (Incidentally my cousins who were born in Tg. Malim have asthma since they were born) That started the bout of different medicines as compared to normal cough plus the need to use steroid inhaler. The consolation was at least I knew what was wrong with me.

I was able to go back to work after being diagnosed as asthmatic. But I had to carry the steroid inhaler with me everywhere I went. Sometimes the asthma was so bad that my uncle had to bring me to the public hospital located opposite his housing estate on the way home from work after 10p.m. so that the doctor can give me more drugs to inhale in order to improve my condition. Altogether my medical bill must have added to about RM1k and my uncle paid every single cent of it. For that I am truly thankful to him.

As much as I needed to take medicine for my asthmatic condition and to use the steroid inhaler, I also prayed to God to heal me. And God did heal me completely. I have not used the inhaler for more than ten years now. Hallelujah!

I always thank God I do not have asthma anymore. I just get cold easily.

Some of the precautions I take in order not to trigger back asthma are as follows.

1. Take hot showers especially in the morning unless there is no current.
2. Avoid inhaling cigarette smoke.
3. Wear thicker clothing when the weather is cooler.

(But taking the steroids through the steroid inhaler had caused my bones especially my back bone to become brittle. Will blog about this some other day)